vietnam and nixon

nixon becomes president

20th jan 1969

when is the my lai massacre

1968

nixon announces vietnamisation

8th june 1969

nixon’s background

1.republican 2. vice president to eisenhower 3. traditional cold war warrior 4. foreign policy ‘expert’ 5. 1968 republican nominee for president

2 reasons why the cold war had changed by the 1970s

russia = economically weak and russia and china hate each other

henry kissinger

german jewish refugee, harvard professor in international relations, worked with nixon after kennedys rejection

Nixon and Kissinger both supported the idea of Realpolitik. Explain this idea

secret diplomacy, minimises ideology and little concern for soldiers/ civilians

nixons 3 ideas to end the war in vietnam

vietnamisation, linkage and mad bomber

explain vietnamisation

nixon doctrine - replace the US with ARVN - increase use of south vietnamese soldiers

nixon ceases talk of escalation and increases talk of what

‘peace with honour’

explain the policy of linkage

play china and russia off against each other - effective but takes a long time - sino-soviet split meant less threat of communist bloc - improve relations to both to encourage peace deal

explain the mad man/mad bomber policy/tactic

keep bombing vietnam - be unpredictable to intimidate the vc

what did nixon hope for the bombing offensive of the ho chi minh trail in cambodia

sever enemy supply lines, encourage hanoi to agree to peace and destroy cosvin head quarters

what is realpolitik

actions based on practical situations, rather than moral or ideological ideas

explain watergate scandal

attempt to bug democratic party headquarters of watergate hotel, nixon covers it up but claims to know nothing - conversation in oval office recorded and prove his covering up - led to resignation

what group was hired to carry out bugging in watergate hotel

CREEP (campaign to re -elect the president)

when were the paris peace accords signed

jan 1973

5 key terms of paris peace accords

1\. ceasefire in vietnam 2.POWs returned 3.PAVN (NVN) can stay in south but can’t take ‘advantage’ 4.thieu can stay in power but communists can have ‘representation’ 5.nixon promises billions in reparations

when is the secret bombing of cambodia - operation menu

march 1969

what happened in march 1969

operation menu - secret bombing of cambodia

operation menu

feb 1970 - invasion of cambodia and find COSVN (HQ of VC) - 30,000 US troops and 50,000 ARVN - massive impact on cambodia and home front

what was the aim of the invasion of cambodia 1570

to find COSVN the headquarters of the vietcong

how many US and ARVN troops were sent into cambodia as part of operation menu

30,000 US, 50,000 ARVN

how many US troops were withdrawn in spring 1970

150,000

when was the lam son offensive

february 1971

aim of lam son offensive 1971

help arvn morale, cut the ho chi minh trail, show vietnamisation was working

what was the lam son offensive of 1971

attempt by ARVN to invade laos, 1/2 died within 2 weeks

easter offensive

1972, north launched attack

operation linebacker

may 1972, bombed NVN, mined harbour at haiphong

operation linebacker 2

december 1972, 1000 deaths, reassures Thiew ‘nixon waging war by tantrum’

what were the aims of the linebacker raids

to reassure thieu that the us would not abandon him

regarding diplomacy what 2 things made no progression in 1970

1. linkage 2.peace

when did secret hanoi - washington negotiations begin

1969

what happened in 1972 regarding diplomacy (3)

1\. summits at beijing and moscow 2.NVN and US make COMPROMISE 3. congress withdraws funds

why does nixon refuse to sign for peace in oct 1972

1. impact on election - fear it would look like an election ploy 2. fears thieu has 3.fears nixon has

moratorium

oct/nov 1969 - peaceful reset button on anti-war movement, minute silence held

what was the aim of the moratorium in autum 1969

to rehabilitate their image after the chicago riots

when did my lai become public knowledge

1969

nixon famous speech 1969

‘silent majority speech’ - ‘my fellow americans’ , psychological technique to gain support and divide america

kent state shooting

may 1970, 4 dead students, many still supported war eg hard hat riots

what did the kent state shooting lead to

all college campuses closing down

what did the hard hat riot show

there was a lot of opposition to the anti war movement - construction workers attacked anti-war protesters

nixon approval rating in 1971

31%

when does nixon win election

1972

4 ways in which nixon’s foreign policy was successful

1\. ended war 2. managed detente and reduced tensions short term 3. us remained powerful and with honour 4. worked with constraints, 1973 congress stopped money for war

5 ways i which nixon’s foreign policy was NOT successful

1\. slow withdrawal - high casualties (20,000 us) 2. peace only lasted until 1975 3. fundamentally divided US “my fellow americans” speech 4. failed to remove PAVN or eliminate VC 5. failed to support ARVN or SVN government

when was the easter offensive launched

march 1972 - 100,000 PAVN were killed or wounded

when did nixon visit beijing

feb 1972

when did nixon visit moscow

may 1972

how did the US and north vietnam eventually compromise

1. pavn could stay in the south but could not take advantage

2. thieu would remain in power but communists were also given representation in the south

why was nixon forced to agree to the paris peace accords in jan 1973

congress had voted to withdraw funding for the vietnam wat

why was nixon forced to resign from the presidency in august 1974

watergate scandal

when does saigon fall to the communists

april 1975

how had the relationship between the USA and china changed by the 1970s

relationship was warmer as a result of the summits

how had the relationship between china and russia changed by the 1970s

relationship was cooler due to the sino soviet split

when did the US end its recognition of taiwan as nationalist china

1978

nixons chief negotiator

kissinger

what was the silent majority speech

nixon called on the ‘silent majority’ who supported him

when did nixon win re-election

1972

saigon falls

30th april 1975

last US troops leave vietnam

29th march 1973